Japan

The horrible (and amazing? Can I say that?) earthquake felt by Japan was an incredible 9.2 on the Richter Scale. How crazy is it to think that where we live, on this Earth, the planet breaks apart and tears down everything humanity has built in it's place. Crazy. Mother Nature essentially rules every part of our lives. No matter how hard we try to escape her, or how many funky buildings we create, she always has the last say. The video below shows just how crazy she can be. This whirlpool is just hanging out, in the ocean, doing whatever it feels like. Maybe it's just me, but this weekend totally shook me up and brought me to a whole new outlook on the world and how we look at it.

http://thoughtcatalog.com/2011/japan-earthquate-creates-giant-whirpool/

I also just heard about Patagonia Music- "Music to benefit the environment." Zac Brown Band, Jack Johnson, and others have songs up on the website you can buy through iTunes. The sale of each song goes to a different environmental charity.

http://www.patagonia.com/us/media/music

One last thing, GO DUKE!

Volunteering

I've been thinking about what I want to do for my volunteer project and almost immediately vetoed Moore's Spring Trails. First off I don't have a car, and it would be nearly impossible to BIKE all the way (although it could be done...). But then I started thinking, I can't make it up there to be involved as much as I would like to be, but I can help get the word out about the trails and get other people involved! PR is kind of my hobby, my mom is an artist and lacks skill all things technology, so I handle her "press" and getting the word out. If it works for my mom I sure hope it will work for the the trails.

I am really looking forward to this opprotunity. I LOVE Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, just technology in general. I really hope this works out!

Oh, and I've joined the track team. So I am going to be seeing a lot of Salem Lake and downtown from a runners perspective. This will help give me a better idea of what it's like to bike (ish) around the Winston area.

Washington, D.C.

Lucky number 13 on the Top 50 Bike Friendly Cities list is Washington, D.C.

The Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA) is a very active and well known across D.C. and the surrounding areas. They have many events year round, have bike education classes, and are active in the development and expansion of bike ways.

The website is awesome, I suggest you check it out. It is a great inspiration for anyone wanting to get ideas on how to expand their area's bike program.

http://www.waba.org

Friday morning I hit the road and headed back to Wilmington, NC. It got up to 75 degrees this weekend, it was perfect bike riding weather.

I took out my beach cruiser and rode to Wrightsville Beach. Wilmington is trying to be more bike friendly. They have recently added large trails around the area that leads up to Wrightsville Beach. This made it much easier to get onto the beach.

Wrightsville has a loop around the center of the island, that is great to ride around and also for running. It was such a nice time, it makes me miss living on Wrightsville Beach and biking everyday.

Biking

I LOVE to bike. I use to live on Wrightsville Beach, a small island town off the coast of Wilmington that is approximately 3 miles long. The fastest, and most fun, way to get around on the island is with a bike.

But I have had a very, very busy start to the semester. With 5 classes, community service, and another outside class it's hard for me to find free time in the daylight. So, instead of biking outside, I hoped over to the fitness center and jumped on a bike. It's not as much fun as biking outside, that's for sure. But it is a great way to get exercise, and it is no walk in the park. Today's beautiful Spring-like day makes me want to make time to bike, which I will be sure to do.